Downpour to elude city

A STAFF REPORTER

The Met office has warned against interpreting the current spells of smart showers as a prelude to a monsoon downpour the city has been awaiting for more than a month.

“The monsoon trough is moving away from the city and there is almost no possibility of a downpour any time soon. The spells of showers we have been witnessing are likely to continue,” said Gokul Chandra Debnath, the director of the India Meteorological Department, Alipore.

A low-pressure belt over Odisha and a resulting cyclonic circulation are drawing moisture from the Bay of Bengal. “Calcutta will get light to moderate showers on Monday under the influence of the system. The low-pressure belt, however, is set to move towards central India,” Debnath said.

The formation may trigger “substantial rainfall” in the western districts of West Midnapore, Purulia, Bankura and Burdwan over the next 24-36 hours, but rain “will decrease gradually” in Calcutta during the period.

The monsoon had arrived in the city on June 17, 10 days behind schedule. The city received 174.6mm of rain in June, against its quota of 283.5mm.

July, too, was rain-deficient, with the city’s wettest month ending without a single day of significant showers. The city received 247.3mm of rain in the month, against the usual share of 399.9mm.

“It seems the entire monsoon will pass without a spell of downpour we have come to associate with the season. It is frustrating,” said Raina Gomes, 14, a resident of Moulali.